Steam-condensing and vacuum-producing apparatus.



APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED IIAPR.ZQ. 1910,

Patented Apr. 22, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

D. B. MORISUN. STEAM UONDBNSING AND VACUUM PRODUCING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION PILED AFR.29, 1910.

1,059,899, Patented Apr. 22, 1913.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

main condenser, varying amounts of exhaust supply of water to the airejector is mainis so constructed that: the supply or". water, or

ejector discharges its water with the air DONALD nuns nomaou,ormmnnroon, new.

STEAX-CONDENEING AND VLOUUI-PB ODUOING APPAILTUI.

lpeotflcatton of Lettarl Patent.

Patented Apr. 22, 1913.

Application filed April 29, 181Q. Serial No. 558,829.

To auwhom z'tmay concern. I

Be it known that I, DONALD BARNB Monison, a subject of the Kin of GreatBritain and Ireland, residin' at artlepool, in the county of Durham,ngland, have invented Improvements in and Relating to Steam-*-Condensing and Vamum-Producing- Apparatus, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention has reference to steam condensing and vacuum producingapparatus of the kind in which air and vapor are withdrawn from a maincondenser b or with the aid of water supplied un er pressure through awater jet ejector (hereinafter called an air c'ector} arranged todeliver the water with tile Withdrawn air into a circulating tank orsystem into which water of condensation from the condenser ,iSlalso-idelivered and from which the air cani escape, means beingprovided whereby an adequate tamedunder varyingconditions of load in themain condenser. Apparatus of this kind is described in the specificationof my former Patent No. 967,810.

Now the present invention has for object to provide improvedconstructions of steam condensing ,and vacuum producing apparatus of thekind referred to whereby the action of such apparatus can be adapted tosuit varying quantities of air present in the steam supplied to suchcondenser and the required degree of vacuum in the condenser, so thatsuch apparatus can be used in a more advantageous manner, under varyingcondition'sof working, then is possible with the constructions ofapparatus described in my said former specification, whereby the Lcopeand usefulness of' such apparatus is 1- creased. Forthis purpose, in'steam condensinflyhnd vacuum producing apparatus of the hind referred toconstructed accordiug to the present invention, the air ejector waterand steam, to its VhYlOIUS arts is capable of being separately controled, and there is provided in connection with the water circulating tankinto which theai'r withdrawn from the condenser, and into, which water(a condensation ishrr cctly-br r is I a circuhi Water from tho tank Band delivering it dimdirectiy discharged from the "coudgugggi,

and from which water is directly and continuously delivered back intothe air ejector, means whereby the water that is directly deliveredbackinto the air ejector, or another portion ofwater that is caused to passfrom the tank through another by pass circuit to the air ejector, can,when required, be cooled 'and C an air ejector connected to the air andVapor outlet from the condenser by a branch a, the air ejectorcomprising, in this example, steam and water nozzles, such ashereinafter described, arranged in series, so as to discha 'ge air andwater through a discharge pipe c direct into the circulating tank B, sothat upon the water and air being discharged irito the tank, the airwill ascend and be liberated at the top. -s is a steam nozzle throughwhich a jet of steam can be introducedlinto the air inlet end of the airejector so as to mingle with the air therein and carry the sameforward-and into the water jets so that it will be effectually removedthereby,-as described in my said former s ecification. The circulatingtank is provi edwith an outlet branch 8 through which heated water canflow for use as feed water. Under normal working conditions of thesteamiengine' connected to the con denser A, the" water level in thetank Bwill beat some distance abovethe lowest part of the butlet branch8 but it will of course fall as the supply of exhaust steam to thecondenser diminishes with variations in the work done by the enginebutcannot fall below, the lowest giart of the said outlet branch.

ing pump for withdrawing andfeturned in its cooled state to the airthrougti g lpipe 33 with branches Z into the tank B. The circulatingtank B is provided with cooling means, such as a coiled pipe 0, thesupply of cooling water through. the said pipe being regulated by afloat 7* which controls a valve 0 in such a way that when t1 normal 01an BXCQSSlVG amount Of steam is condensed in the condenser A, and theresulting water of condensation is delivercd to the tank Bby the pump tthe water controlling valve 0 of the cooling device 0 will be closed, sothatthe Water supplied to the circulating tank B will not be cooled butwill on the contrary be increased in temperature by reason'of the watercirculating through the air. eject-or C being heated by the steam-jet,and by the vapor from the condenser, the excess of heated water passingthrough the outlet branch 8 to a feed. tank and thence to the feed pumpata considerably higher temperature than that of the water ofcondensation inthe condenser, a reatthermal-advantage being therebyobtamed; 'When, however. the quantity of feed water from the condenser Ais less than the normal amount, the'fioat 1', by falling, causes coolingwater to flow through the pipe 0 and prevents the temperature of thewater in the tank B rising beyond the temperature desired for theetiicient working of the air ejector' C, the difierence between thehighest and lowest levels of the water in the tank B being sutficient toadmit of the required movement of the float r-for operating the valve 0A vertical tube p,

open at both ends, may be arranged between the C011 0 and discharge pipe2, and a division platep between the (ioil and the wall 9 of the tank Bfor causing the water discharged into the tank by the p pe 6 to flow tothe bottom of the tank} and thence rise 'over and in contact with fthpcoil 0 and over the top of the partition p which is below the bottom ofthe outlet branch a, to the suction pipe 15 of thepumpit.

' In Fig. 2, which is a modification of the arrangement shown in Fig,l', the pump 6 used for withdrawing water of condensation from thecondenser A is of the reciprocating air pump'type, and can. be madecapable, at

wi'll, of withdrawing air and vapor and water, or water only, from thesaid con- "denser. The pump 25 discharges into'the circulating tank Binto which the air withdrawn from-the condenser 'is simultaneouslydischarged by the air ejector C. In order to prevent the air pum tdrawing free air from the condenser W on the ejector C is in I ale 8,the water spraying and condensin w that is normally closed, may be watersealed by a pipe w but in order to enable the pump t to-withdraw'anddischarge air, vapor and water together from the condenser in the eventof stoppage of the air ejector C, as'by accident, or. for any otherreason, the wateriseal in pipe w can be avoided by opening the valve @12thus enabling the pump t to withdraw air, vapor and waterthrou'gh the pie w direct in the usual manner. This combination ofappara'tus 'isspecially suitable and valuable for use on warships, as it providesfor'alternar ti've air withdrawing methods, and when the ship iscruising or workin atlow powers, the air and water pump 6 a one Will besaith cient to produce the desired vacuum without the use or" the airejector G. The surplus water can be discharged from the water deliverypipe or conduit Z through a pipe m arranged between the pump 6 and air eector and controlled by a valvecn, to a; feed tank at a higher levelthan the waterin the tank -B. The valve n me as shown be connected tothe float r connected to the valve 0 that controls the flow of waterthrough the cooler 0,

' 1 The air ejector C illustrated in Figs. 1 and adapted to be connectedto the condenser by the branch at through which the mixture of air andvapor is withdrawn, and provided with a steam nozzle 8 arranged todischarge a jet of steam into the interior f of such pipe or casing 7through the tube 9, awater spraying and steam condensmg dev ce h havingorifices for the d schargeof water spray, and a water jet nozzle'jfdelivering I into a combining cone it Another water jet nozzle j of theannular type is arranged coaxially with or in combination with the waterspraying and steam condensing device h and water jet nozzle 7' the steamnoz- (T de-f vice it together with the water jet nozz le 7' and annularwater j et '5 being provided with! separate controlling means. orvalvesk, Z,

respectively, so that each can be time to time. Thecross sectionalmesa-e 9,

, arately regulated or shutofi in order to ap!) the air ejector toefi'ectiveiy'deal-with vary-'1 in... mg quantities of 8.1.1 in thecondenser from;

water passagethrfough thewater 3 95 may be varied by atube y' that canbe aid-j justed in an endwise direction by enematric n that engages arecessed boss} on the tube j and is operated by'a hand wheel 39. Anonrreturn valve ii-may also be provided,

such valve, in the form: of a float, acting, should water rise in thecasing f, to automaticallyclose the tube g and soprevent waterreentering the condenser through the branch (1.

It has been found by experiment, that in the case where a steam nozzleis provided in connection with the air ejector O, that when thecondensing system is exceptionally air tight, or when the water jets arealone sailicient to dominate the condenser, at the desired vacuum, andthe-steam to the steam jet is shut off, that the'flow of air and-vaporthrough the tube 1' into which the steam jet discharges, may become!throttled by reason of the comparatively small diameter of such tube. Inorder to obviate such detrimental effect, the a. )paratus may, as shownin Fig. 3, be'provided with a by-pass pipe a of adequate cross sectionalarea, such by-pass pipe being fitted with a valve 41 which is closedwhen theamount of air justifies the use of the steam jet 8, and openedwhen the steam jet is out of use.

In Fig. 4, the water spraying device h consists of an annular waterchamber arranged above the central nozzle 7" and provided with anannular row of oritices or nozzles a is a water ejecting nozzle fed fromthe pump 8 and which withdraws water from the condenser through the pipea and discharges it through a pipe 1) into the s raying chamber Inwhence it escapes tirough the spraying orifices a1 as already described.

"The steam jet may, with great thermal advantageybe combined with amechanically operated water spraying and e'ecting device, shown inFig. 5as a turbine w eel C of the known kind, the combined apparatus accordingto my invention, enabhn water to" be used in the ejecting device 1 o ahigher tem.- perature, relatively'to' the tem erature -cor-' respondingto the vacuum in the condenser, than can be used for the production of agiven vacuum, with a given air leakage, withthe --mechanically operatedapparatus when it is not combined with a steam jet. The float 1' in thisexample governsa valve 0 controlling the su )ply of water from the tankB to a cooling t evice c situated in the base of the condenser A, thearrangement being such that when the rate of condensation in-thecondenser A is below the normal, or when no steam is condensed, thefloat r by falling, opens the'valve 0 and water passes, underatmospheric pressure, from the circulating tank B through a pipe 72 intothe water cooler c. The water after flowin through the cooler, passesinto ipe I! an is-discliarged by pump 25 into tie tank 13, therebyregulating the temperature of the water to thatrequired for theefficient workin of the air ejector C.

ig. 6 shows another arrangement suitable for use in cases wherewtheamount of air, the desired vacuum, or the thermal con- 'ditions, justifyor require the provision and the use of a steam jet and where the waterpump t is driven by a steam engine 3 In this example, to the waterdelivery pipe Z is connected a branch pipe m through which water ofcondensation is passed to a double acting valve 0 controlled by a float1' in the tank B in such a manner that normally a quantity of water,equivalent to the quantity continually being condensed in the condenserA, is delivered through the valve 0 and pipe 121- to a feed tank orelsewhere. Or, when the condensed steam water is insufficient in amountto maintain the desired temperature, the water passing through theejector C can be artificially cooled. For this purpose, when the waterlevel in the tank B falls, the double acting valve 0 is arranged,through the o )eration of the float 1-, to cause water in tie pipe m toflow through the pipe 7) to the cooler e situated in the base of thecondenser A, the outlet from the cooler c bein into the ejector Gthrough the branch (L. fiy this arrangement it will be seen that when nosteam is entering the condenser and when consequently there is noresulting water of condensation, a portion of the water from the tank Bto the ejector C, is cooled and mamtained in continuous circulationthrough the ejector C. 'The steam nozzle of the ejector C mayadvantageously be supplied through the pipe 8" with exhaust steam fromthe steam engine 3 used to drive the pump t. The said steam nozzle mayhowever be supplied with steam from any other source.

In some cases the valve controlling the supply of water to the watercooler or to t-hecondenser, may be operated by hand, or any othersuitable device may be employed for regulating the temperature of thewater in the circulating tank when desired.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the saidinvention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare thatwhat I claim is:-

1. In a steam condensing plant, the combination with a condenser, awater operated ejector adapted to withdraw air and vapor from saidcondenser, a tank into which said ejector discharges, and means forcontinuously withdrawing water from said tank and delivering it intosaid ejector, of means whereby water supplied from said tank to saidejector can be regulated in temperature, only as and when required, andmeans for determining when such temperature regulating means shall comeinto action.

2. In a steam condensing plant wherein airand vapor are withdrawn from acondenser by a water operated ejector which discharges into a tank fromwhich the water supply to the said ejector is withdrawn by a pump, andwater of condensation is conducted from the condenser to said tankindependent of the ejector, means whereby water supplied from saidtankto said ejector can be regulated in temperature only as and whenrequired and means for determining when such temperature regulatingmeans shall come into action.

3. In a steam condensing plant wherein air and vapor are withdrawn froma condenser by a steam and water operated ejector which discharges intoa tank to which said ejector is connected by a return conduit providedwith means for circulating water through said ejector, tank andconnecting conduit. and wherein water of condensation from the condenseris delivered into the water circulating circuit, a water cooling deviceand controlling means whereby said coolint devicecan be put out ofaction or whereby it, can be brought into action for cooling the watercirculating through said ejector and tank when the water of condensationdelivered from the condenser is insuilicient in amount to maintain thedesired thermal control of the apparatus.

4. In a steam condensing plant wherein air and vapor are withdrawn froma condenser by a water 0 erated ejector which dischar es into a tant towhich it is connected )y a return conduit provided with means forcirculating water through said ejector, tank and return conduit, andwherein water of condensation from the condenser is delivered into thewater circulating circuit, water cooling means whereby the watercirculatin througlrsaid ejector and tank can be coo ed and meansdependent upon the amount of water supplied from the condenser to thetank for automatically, controlling the action of said water coolingmeans.

5. In a steam condensing plant wherein air and vapor are withdrawn froma condenser by a water operated ejector which dischar cs into a. tank towhich it is connected iy a return conduit provided with means forcirculating water throu h said ejector, tank and return conduit, anwherein water of condensation from the condenser is delivered into saidtank and water circulating circuit, a water cooling device arranged insaid tank and connected to a cold water supply pipe; a valve controllingthe flow of cooling water through said water cooling device and a floatconnected to said valve and subject to the height of water in said tank.

0. In a steam condensing plant wherein air and vapor are withdrawn froma condenser by a steam and water operated ejector having a steam nozzle,and wherein said ejector discharges into a tank to which it is connectedby a return conduit, a rotary device arranged to deliver water from saidtank into said ejector through said conduit, means for delivering waterfrom said condenser to the combined ejector, tank and conduit and meansunder the control of a valve and normally out of action whereby thetemperature of the circulating water can be reduced only as and whennecessary.

7. In a steam condensing plant wherein air and vapor are withdrawn froma condenser by a water ODCIILi-Bd ejector which dischar es into a tanrto which it is connected )Y a return conduit, a rotary pum arranged todeliver water from said tan: to said ejector through said conduit, apump connected to the water outlet of said condenser and to said tank, awater cooling device arranged in said tank and connected to a cold watersup ly pipe, a valve controlling the sup lyo cooling water through saidcooler ancl a float in said tank connected to said valve.

8. In a steam condensing plant wherein air and vapor are withdrawn froma condenser by a water operated ejector which discharges into a tankfrom which the water supply to the said ejector is withdrawn, an airpump, capable of withdrawing air,v. or and water, having its deliveryconnecte to said tank, a pipe connecting the condenser to the suctioninlet of said air pump, said pipe being of a size adapted to al 0w ofair, vapor and water flowing therethrough to said air pump, a watersealed pipe connected at its ends to the first mentioned pipe and avalve in said pipe between the parts thereof to which said water sealedpipe is connected, for the purpose set forth.

9. In a steam condensing plant wherein air and vapor are withdrawn froma condenser by a water operated ejector which discharges into a tank towhich said ejector is connected by a return conduit and a pump forcirculatin water through said tank, conduit and e ector, and wherein thewater of condensation from the condenser is delivered into the watercirculating system, a water outlet pipe connected to the conduit betweenthe circulating pump and the ejector, a valve controlling the flow ofwater through said pipe and a float subject to the water in said tankand connected to said valve.

10. In a steam condensing plant wherein air and vapor are withdrawn froma condenser by a water operated ejector which discharges into a tankfrom which the water is circulated throu b said ejector, and wherein thewater 0 condensation from the condenser is delivered into the watercirculating circuit, a water operated ejector having multiple waterinlet branches, a return conduit connecting said tank to the multipleinlet branches of said ejector, a rotary ump in circuit with saidconduit, means or separately controlling the supply of water througheach water inlet branch, and means normally out of action whereby theWater circulating through said ejector and tank can be cooled as andwhen required.

11. In a steam condensing plant wherein air and vapor are withdrawn froma condenser by a water operated ejector which discharges into a tank toWhich said ejector is connected by a return conduit so as to form acontinuous system through which Water is caused to circulate, means fordelivering air, Vapor and Water from said condenser into saidcirculating smears and means for delivering excess of watisgfrom thereturn conduit at a part thereof between the Water circulating means"and ejector.

12. In a steam condensingplaiutoahefiin' air and vapor are Withdrawnfrom a condenser by a Water operated e ect-or which discharges into atank from which Water is circulated by a pump through a return conduitconnected to said tank and ejector, a water cooler arranged in said tankmeans for controlling the fiow of cooling Water through said Watercooler, an excess water discharge pipe connected to said conduit between the Water circulating pump and ejector and means forsimultaneously controlling the fioW of water through said waterdischarge pipe and of Water through the cooling device. a m

Signed at London England this 20 day of April 1910.

DONALD BARNS MORISON.

l Jitnesses:

R. WnsTAcorr, H. D. JAMEsoN.

